Mesh Cute X215 HD review
in Desktop PCs
Verdict
A lot of PC for the money, but it's too noisy to be considered a serious contender for the living room
Review Date: 1 Sep 2009
Reviewed By: Sasha Muller
Price when reviewed: £347 (£399 inc VAT)
Features & Design
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Value for Money
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Performance
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| Details | |
|---|---|
| Part Code | Cute X215 HD |
| Review Date | 1 Sep 2009 |
| Price ex VAT | £347 |
| Price inc VAT | £399 |
| Overall rating |
|
| Performance |
|
| Features & Design |
|
| Value for Money |
|
| Warranty | |
|---|---|
| Warranty | 1 yr return to base |
| Basic specifications | |
|---|---|
| Total hard disk capacity | 320 |
| RAM capacity | 2.00GB |
| Screen size | N/A |
| Processor | |
|---|---|
| CPU family | AMD Athlon |
| CPU nominal frequency | 2.70GHz |
| CPU overclocked frequency | N/A |
| Processor socket | AM3 |
| HSF (heatsink-fan) | AMD Low-profile |
| Motherboard | |
|---|---|
| Motherboard | J&W Minix 780G-SP128M |
| Motherboard chipset | AMD 780G |
| Conventional PCI slots free | 0 |
| Conventional PCI slots total | 0 |
| PCI-E x16 slots free | 0 |
| PCI-E x16 slots total | 1 |
| PCI-E x8 slots free | 0 |
| PCI-E x8 slots total | 0 |
| PCI-E x4 slots free | 0 |
| PCI-E x4 slots total | 0 |
| PCI-E x1 slots free | 0 |
| PCI-E x1 slots total | 0 |
| Internal SATA connectors | 4 |
| Internal SAS connectors | 0 |
| Internal PATA connectors | 1 |
| Internal floppy connectors | 0 |
| Wired adapter speed | 1,000Mbits/sec |
| Memory | |
|---|---|
| Memory type | DDR2 |
| Memory sockets free | 0 |
| Memory sockets total | 2 |
| Hard disk | |
|---|---|
| Hard disk | Samsung HD322HJ |
| Capacity | 320GB |
| Hard disk usable capacity | 298GB |
| Internal disk interface | SATA/300 |
| Spindle speed | 7,200RPM |
| Cache size | 16MB |
| Hard disk 2 make and model | N/A |
| Hard disk 2 nominal capacity | N/A |
| Hard disk 2 formatted capacity | N/A |
| Hard disk 2 spindle speed | N/A |
| Hard disk 2 cache size | N/A |
| Hard disk 3 make and model | N/A |
| Hard disk 3 nominal capacity | N/A |
| Hard disk 4 make and model | N/A |
| Hard disk 4 nominal capacity | N/A |
| Drives | |
|---|---|
| Optical drive | Lite-On iHES106 |
| Optical disc technology | Blu-ray reader |
| Optical disk 2 make and model | N/A |
| Optical disk 3 make and model | N/A |
| Graphics card | |
|---|---|
| Graphics card | N/A |
| Multiple SLI/CrossFire cards? |
|
| 3D performance setting | Low |
| Graphics chipset | ATI Radeon HD 3200 |
| Graphics card RAM | 1.00GB |
| DVI-I outputs | 1 |
| HDMI outputs | 1 |
| VGA (D-SUB) outputs | 1 |
| DisplayPort outputs | 0 |
| Number of graphics cards | 1 |
| Monitor | |
|---|---|
| Monitor make and model | N/A |
| Resolution screen horizontal | N/A |
| Resolution screen vertical | N/A |
| Resolution | N/A x N/A |
| Pixel response time | N/A |
| Contrast ratio | N/A |
| Screen brightness | N/A |
| DVI inputs | 0 |
| HDMI inputs | 0 |
| VGA inputs | 0 |
| DisplayPort inputs | 0 |
| Rear ports | |
|---|---|
| USB ports (downstream) | 8 |
| eSATA ports | 1 |
| PS/2 mouse port |
|
| Electrical S/PDIF audio ports | 1 |
| Optical S/PDIF audio output ports | 1 |
| Modem |
|
| 3.5mm audio jacks | 6 |
| Additional Peripherals | |
|---|---|
| Speakers | 0 |
| Speaker type | 0 |
| Sound card | Realtek HD audio |
| Peripherals | N/A |
| Case | |
|---|---|
| Chassis | Mesh Cute |
| Case format | Mini ITX |
| Dimensions | 200 x 301 x 171mm (WDH) |
| Power supply | |
|---|---|
| Power supply | CFI KT-T150FXS-06A |
| Power supply rating | 150W |
| Free drive bays | |
|---|---|
| Free front panel 5.25in bays | 0 |
| Front ports | |
|---|---|
| Front panel USB ports | 2 |
| Front panel memory card reader |
|
| Mouse & Keyboard | |
|---|---|
| Mouse and keyboard | Logitech Deluxe 660 Cordless desktop |
| Operating system and software | |
|---|---|
| OS family | Windows Vista |
| Recovery method | Recovery disc |
| Software supplied | Cyberlink BD Solution |
| Noise and power | |
|---|---|
| Idle power consumption | 75W |
| Peak power consumption | 112W |
| Performance tests | |
|---|---|
| Overall application benchmark score | 1.16 |
| Office application benchmark score | 1.07 |
| 2D graphics application benchmark score | 1.37 |
| Encoding application benchmark score | 1.15 |
| Multitasking application benchmark score | 1.07 |
| 3D performance (crysis) low settings | 22fps |
| 3D performance setting | Low |
From around the web
Thank you!
Been waiting for you guys to review this!
Asked Mesh about the specs, but the sales bod "Dave" just didn't have a clue!
Can I please ask you to re-confirm that it does indeed have optical SPDIF out on the rear? Even after all my questions (wherein I pointed them in the correct direction re the mobo) I was told "no, it doesn't have any kind of optical audio out"!
The sound of the fans could put me off, but Mesh have an open case policy, so I might be tempted to just swap the fans for something quieter!
Looking to get one as a replacement for my Revo (not enough ooomph at 1920*1080) that could also double up as a media store - upgrade to 1Tb and use the esata to add an extra 2Tb.
By bioreit on 1 Sep 2009 ![]()
Where they at?
Hello again.
Was just about to bite the bullet and buy the low-end Mesh Cute (on the basis that as it would be based in the bedroom, I could live without the Optical SPDIF if it happened not to have it) and lo and behold, the entire Mesh Cute range has been removed from the site!
Tried getting in touch with Mesh, but no response yet. Wonder if PC Pro would have any better luck?
By bioreit on 4 Sep 2009 ![]()
Mesh cute on QVC
I saw this on QVC yesterday and they had lots for sale as well as an expert from Mesh to extol its virtues. I thought of buying one but held back until I read more so thanks for the info about the fans. Can PC Pro suggest alternatives?
By slueth50 on 6 Sep 2009 ![]()
Too risky if there are any problems
Interesting idea, but too risky, given MESH's poor reliability and customer service track record. Any problems and I'd lose too much.
By tquinlan on 6 Oct 2009 ![]()
Where is my PC?
Mesh have now had by £2,000 PC in repair for 7 weeks now and are not responding to any attempts to contact them.
Given this, I'd steer well clear of them.
By djoharrow on 8 Oct 2009 ![]()
Different experiences
I've got two Mesh PCs for personal use now (and 3 at work) and although I've had some minor issues with them, I wouldn't say anything was a deal breaker. My first PC made an awful racket on arrival - suspecting maybe a broken case fan, went on the forums and got the go-ahead to pop the case open and have a look. A cable had fallen on top of the fan and was making the sound - moved it out the way and all was fine.
The other one is fine (a Cute as reviewed) and is very noisy, but I'm in the process of upgrading the PSU to a fanless one.
Mesh do seem to have a bad rep, but no worse than the catalogue of issues we get with our Tier 1 manufactured devices at work (Dell, Toshiba, HP, Acer, Asus, Lenovo, etc) and at least the open-case warranty means minor things can be resolved quickly.
I wouldn't recommend Mesh for anyone who's not tech savvy, but those who are, they tend to be noisy but worth it, in my experiences.
By bioreit on 14 Oct 2009 ![]()
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